what is a "decent" configuration for a Mac Pro

[sunbiz]

I've been digging around the net to see what people are using in terms of configurations with their Mac Pro for audio production.

 

Apple says obviously that getting the 3.0 dual-core is the way to go . But is that the case !

 

Of course getting the top-of-line machine is what everyone wants if the price was right. But why then offer the dual core at speeds of 2.0 and 2.66 . Even when you research the Apple website, in terms of performance with Logic Pro, the 2.66 dual core system only under-performs against the 3.0 dual core by a margin of roughly "- 0.2 x" (running plugins such as Sculpture) . Apple also suggests that you make full use of the on-board memory, so they recommend;

o take full advantage of the 256-bit wide memory architecture, four or more FB-DIMMs should be installed in Mac Pro.

Is 2 gigs of ram not good enough, considering that software developers are always increading the efficiency of modern day plugins and AU's to not be a burden on CPU consumption !

 

 

i was thinking of configuring a system with the follow core specs;

 

 

• Both Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and AirPort Extreme
  500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
  One 16x SuperDrive
  Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
  2GB (4 x 512MB)
  250GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
  NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB (single-link DVI/dual-link DVI)

 

 

I'm not scoring major cinematic orchestras or big-budget hollywood films.

what i will be using the system for is it's ability to run alot of high quality plugins,

 

(i.e. sculpture, convolution reverbs, spectrasoncis plugins, native instruments plugins)

 

Is this configuration something that will last a few years, or should I plan on selling my liver on the black market to afford the "Apple recommended Configuration".

 

thanks.

 

 

[David Nahmani]

I think all your observations make sense and I agree with your choice. I think you'll see a LOT of CPU power from this machine for years. I say don't sell the liver just yet.

 

To save extra pennies, don't order the drive and the RAM from Apple but use websites such as http://dealmac.com and http://dealram.com to find lower prices and install it yourself.

 

My 2c.

[sunbiz]

thanks for the tip David.

 

I'll have a look around.

 

cheers.